Getting Greener Every Day
I'm not a tree-hugger per se.
But I'm not an idiot either.
I'm just a singular unit of life sharing the globe for a very short time with each and every other living thing. Someone who has become more environmentally conscious of the decisions she makes everyday.
And as usual, I find out that I'm simply "average" yet again.
Not that "average" is such a bad thing, but it's not good either.
Especially when measuring my Eco footprint and comparing it to fellow Canadians... but I'm going to improve.
Here's my progress on my own Green Scale. I started at "Melon" and I would say I've made it to "Chartreuse" so far:
I keep our yard free of trash
We fill two recycle bins every garbage day
I don’t buy aerosols
We've planted 36 trees in our yard
We don't have air conditioning
We have two composters
I un-susbscribed from papers & magazines
I donate household items to Goodwill
We have an energy efficient furnace and programmable thermostat
I take short showers
80 % of our laundry is in cold water
I am constantly turning off lights
I keep 99% of our photos digitally instead of printing
I recycle at work
I turn off my computer and lights at work daily
I refill toner cartridges at home and at work
I love buying second-hand clothes and books
I grow houseplants at home and at work
I've reduced idling / warm up time in the car
I clean and reuse my furnace filters
I've switched to CFLs
However, there is so much more I can do to get to "Lime" or even "Leaf Green" one day:
I can switch to cloth napkins for everyday use
I can reduce the amount of meat in our meals
I can find phosphate-free household cleansers
I can start using rechargeable batteries
I can reduce fast food meals
I can buy more recycled paper products
I can install weather stripping around the house
I can change to a cotton shower liner from plastic
I can shop with reusable bags every time
I can get off my butt and put in my garden!!!!
I can put jar of water in the toilet tank to save water
I can donate books to the library
I can reduce the "stuff" I've accumulated over the years
I can make Earth Hour a monthly event
So in light of Earth Day 2008 fast approaching, I'm going to knock a few of the "I cans" off that list. Then I'll advance on my Green Scale and find even more ways to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Maybe one day I'll even have a hybrid car. A "Forrest Green" hybrid, of course.
Yeah.
Now that'd be cool....
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16 People would rather be commenting:
Maureen, I have 2 awards for you over at my place.
Awww... Irene. Thank you!!! I'll go get them right away... Woot!!!
I got much less than other people in my area, but I only got a number, not a color or a fruit! Oh okay, wait, I just reread and see that it's your OWN green scale. No wonder I didn't get a melon!!!!
I bought Earth Day shirts for the whole family:
DH's says "Conserve Energy, Wear a Dirty Shirt" (and has the trump d'oeil effect of being dirty)
Mine says "Green is the New Black"
Luke's is a onesie and says "Be Kind To Your Mama" and has a picture of the earth on it.
I try hard to be environmentally responsible, but I know there's more I can do.
Wow, you ARE a Greenie, no doubt! We wash ALL our clothes in cold water, have converted 95% of our lamps to CFLs, and try to use reusable bags as often as possible. But, sometimes, the "powers that be" just get in your way when you try to do the right thing. In my neighbourhood, it is illegal to hang your clothes out to dry on a clothesline (what the heck?!?), businesses are not compelled to recycle, and the City keeps thinking that stopping cars every intersection is better than streamlining traffic to reduce idling, just for starters! And now, there are the fearmongers on TV telling us that CFLs may cause serious health issues. I don't know what for sure, because everytime I hear them talk about it, they always tell you to "tune in next time for a special report", but the "next time" is when I'm not available to tune in....GRRRR! I'll get off my recycled soap box now. Thanks for a great post!
I think it's great. We all should try and be just a smidge greener. It's the little things like not getting fast food or putting your card board in the recycling bin.
I suck. I was BELOW the average pf 24 by 6 points and according to them, "IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.1 PLANETS"
Sorry everyone, I'll try to see if I can reduce the number of planets I'm destroying by at least 2.
Great post, Maureen...I'd say I'm at the Melon stage right now...but I'm working on it!
In the future I hope to actually marry a tree, have a couple treeple that breath carbon monoxide and poop out 100% organic pellets that will run our household. That's forest green!
You know the "green" is getting to you, when you think twice about everything you throw away. I'm going to start decorating my packages with bows made from toilet paper rolls.
I need to do much much more.
I'm off to do the quiz.
Then I'll start my list! I have to say that your list is quite impressive, tho.
Happy Earth Day Maureen. You are good!
LadyBanana: Yeah, I thought I was doing better too… time to get my butt in gear and improve.
Jill: Good for you! Yeah, I made up that scale…. I take “going green” way too literally.
CGG: Great shirts!!!! Wish I saw something like that up here!!! That is too cool…
Phoenix5: Wow, illegal to hang clothes?? That is just sad that businesses aren’t forced to comply more. They could make such a difference. Something I didn’t know before was that we’ll need to dispose of the CFLs differently. How, they didn’t say. They just said that we won’t be able to just throw them out like regular old bulbs.
Mommy bits: You’re right. Every little bit counts!
Jeff: Ouch. I guess we all need to pitch in…
Toners: Thanks! And good luck!
VE: Hah! And you could call him Forrest!!!! Run, run, Forrest, run!!!!
Momo Fali: Yeah… I know what you mean. I think I need more bins to separate and sort. I have been known to wrap gifts in colored comics…. Does that count?
i'm not a tree-hugger either, if anything.. a .. flower-hugger. there's only so much adjustments i can make in my daily life to help the planet lol but i do try though..
A journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step. We are all making our baby steps toward a better planet and I am just as glad to have someone on the other side of the planet having the planet on her mind. I believe together we can make this planet a better place for our future generation. Cheers!
Noelia: Every bit counts. I think just by having it on our minds, we will subconsciously make better decisions... thanks for stopping by!
BK: Very true! And hello to a new visitor from the other side of the world too! Thanks for commenting!
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